Method for fingerprint unlocking and terminal

ABSTRACT

A method for fingerprint unlocking and a terminal are provided. The method includes the follows. Fingerprint information is acquired. A target group number of a group of fingerprint that is most similar to the fingerprint information is determined from among preset fingerprint matching data; where the preset fingerprint matching data corresponds to N groups of fingerprint, each group of fingerprint corresponds to multiple fingerprint templates and has one unique identification group number, and N is an integer greater than 1. The fingerprint information is compared with fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number. A terminal is unlocked when a target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined, where the target matching value is greater than a first preset threshold.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 15/853,304, field on Dec. 22, 2017, which is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2016/093585, filed on Aug. 5, 2016, which claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201610147997.2, filed on Mar. 15, 2016, the contents of all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of security technology, and particularly to a method for fingerprint unlocking and a terminal.

BACKGROUND

Terminals (e.g., mobile phones, tablet PCs, etc.) are becoming widely used with the rapid development of information technology. Fingerprint identification technology, as a standard configuration technology of the terminal, can be widely used in unlocking, waking up, mobile payment, and other functions of the terminal. Meanwhile, to unlock quickly, manufacturers also focus on unlocking time of the terminal. The terminal may store multiple fingerprint templates in advance, and each finger (in other words, fingerprints of the finger) may correspond to multiple fingerprint templates. In the process of unlocking, when fingerprint information of a finger of a user is acquired, the terminal will compare the fingerprint information acquired with fingerprint templates stored in the terminal. For example, for each fingerprint received, first compare the fingerprint information with each fingerprint template corresponding to one finger, and if failed, compare the fingerprint information with each fingerprint template corresponding to another finger, and so on. Such process reduces the efficiency of fingerprint unlocking.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the implementations of the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings required for describing the implementations. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show some implementations of the present disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art may also obtain other drawings based on these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a method for fingerprint unlocking according to a first implementation of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a method for fingerprint unlocking according to a second implementation of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a method for fingerprint unlocking according to a third implementation of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a terminal according to a fourth implementation of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is still another schematic structural diagram illustrating a terminal according to another implementation of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a terminal according to another implementation of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a terminal according to another implementation of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Implementations of the disclosure provide a fingerprint unlocking method and a terminal to improve efficiency of fingerprint unlocking.

Hereinafter, technical solutions embodied in implementations of the disclosure will be described in a clear and comprehensive manner in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is evident that the implementations described herein are merely some rather than all of the implementations of the disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art will be able to derive other implementations based on these implementations without creative work, and all such derived implementations shall fall in the protection scope of the disclosure.

Here is a brief description of terms or phrases used herein.

The terms “first”, “second”, “third”, and “fourth” appearing in the present specification, claims, and drawings are intended for distinguishing different objects rather than describing a particular order. In addition, the terms “include”, “comprise”, “have” and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units, is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally may also include steps or units not listed, or alternatively other steps or units inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

Reference herein to “implementation” means that specific features, structures, or characteristic described in connection with the implementations may be included in at least one implementation of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same implementation, nor are separate or alternative implementations mutually exclusive of other implementations. As one of ordinary skill in the art explicitly and implicitly appreciate, the implementations described herein may be combined with other implementations.

“Terminals” described in the implementations of the disclosure may include smart phones, tablet PCs, palmtops, laptops, mobile internet devices (MID), or wearable devices and so on. The terminals described above are merely illustrative and not exhaustive, which includes but not limited to the foregoing terminals.

The term “unit” or “module” refers to one or more physical or logical components or elements of a system. In some implementations, a unit may be a distinct circuit, while in other implementations a unit may include a plurality of circuits.

It is to be understood that the terminology used in the implementations of the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular implementations only and is not intended to limit the disclosure. Unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, phrases such as “a/an”, “the”, “one” and the like used in the implementations of the disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include a majority. It is also to be understood that the phrase “and/or” used herein refers to and encompasses any or all of the possible combinations of one or more associated listed items. For example, for the purpose of the present disclosure, the phrases “A and/or B” and “A or B” mean (A), (B), or (A and B).

The term “registered fingerprint template” means that, when a fingerprint function of a terminal device such as a mobile phone is enabled for the first time, the user may be asked to undergo a fingerprint registration process. During the fingerprint registration, the user may put his or her finger on a fingerprint identification module (also known as fingerprint identification sensor, fingerprint sensor, fingerprint recognizer, and the like) for fingerprint image acquisition, and the fingerprint image received or acquired will be stored as a registered fingerprint template. Usually, one finger can have one or more than one fingerprint template stored in the terminal. Generally, the fingerprint identification module may receive 10-20 times for each finger in order to receive the whole fingerprint face and generate a comprehensive registered fingerprint template. Characteristic information can be obtained from the fingerprint image received, and for example, the fingerprint template can be saved in the form of image.

In the related art, when conducting fingerprint unlocking, a terminal, specifically, a fingerprint sensor or fingerprint module of the terminal has to receive fingerprint information from a finger of a user that is placed thereon, and then compare the fingerprint information received with fingerprint templates stored in the terminal in advance, the terminal will be unlocked when the match is successful. Since the fingerprint information received is compared with all templates one by one randomly in the related art, it may take a long period for fingerprint unlocking and thus the efficiency of fingerprint unlocking is affected.

In implementations of the present disclosure, the fingerprint templates stored in the terminal can be regarded as being divided into multiple groups (N groups for example and N is an integer greater than 1), with each group of fingerprint templates include at least one fingerprint template and corresponds to one finger. For ease of management and the storing in the terminal, each group of fingerprint templates can be assigned with a group number, such as a unique identifier (ID). Obviously, each group number can be regarded as corresponding to one finger. Therefore, the multiple groups fingerprint templates stored in the terminal may correspond to different fingers, these fingers can belong to the same user or different users, or, these fingers can belong to the same hand or different hands of the user.

Based on the foregoing, when comparing the fingerprint information received from the finger and the fingerprint templates stored in the terminal, the terminal can first compare the fingerprint information with at least one template of at least one group of fingerprint templates (can be referred to as a first comparing process). To be specific, comparison can be conducted between the fingerprint information and a fingerprint template most successfully matched. Alternatively, comparison can be conducted between the fingerprint information and a fingerprint template most successfully matched in a preset time period. The present disclosure is not limited thereto.

At the first several times the technical schemes of the present disclosure is performed, the terminal may have to compare the fingerprint information with each group of fingerprint templates to obtain the maximum matching value that is greater than or equal to the second threshold. With the increase in the number of matching, the user's unlocking habits gradually become obvious, for example, the user usually unlocks using the thumb; that is, from the perspective of the terminal, the group of fingerprint templates corresponding to the thumb is the most successfully matched group, and the terminal will first compare the fingerprint information with the group of fingerprint templates corresponding to the thumb in the first comparing process.

Continuing, the first comparing process will obtain multiple matching values, and there is a maximum matching value among the multiple matching values. Next, different operations can be conducted per the maximum matching value.

If the maximum matching value is greater than a first threshold, the terminal can be unlocked directly.

On the other hand, if the maximum matching value is less than or equal to the first threshold and greater than a second threshold, the terminal will compare the fingerprint information with fingerprint templates in the group of fingerprint templates that corresponds to the maximum matching value (can be referred to as a second comparing process), and the terminal will be unlocked when a target matching value between the fingerprint information and any fingerprint template in the group of fingerprint templates that corresponds to the maximum matching value is greater than the first threshold. In the second comparing process, the fingerprint templates that has subjected to the first comparing process will be compared again in order to further improve the running speed of a processor and improve unlocking speed.

After unlocking, the terminal can sort and re-number the groups of fingerprint templates. For example, the group number of the group of fingerprint templates corresponds to the maximum matching value can be increased by 1 and consequently, the terminal can conduct comparison based on the re-numbered groups of fingerprint templates next new fingerprint information is received for unlocking.

Implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a fingerprint unlocking method according to a first implementation of the disclosure. The fingerprint unlocking method described in this implementation may include the following operations.

At block 101, fingerprint information is acquired.

According to the implementation of the disclosure, a terminal can acquire the fingerprint information in a process of pressing a fingerprint identification module by a user. The fingerprint information may be ridge features of a fingerprint collected or a fingerprint image collected when the user presses the fingerprint identification module.

The fingerprint information can be a fingerprint image for example. In this case, matching values between the fingerprint image collected and fingerprint templates may be determined. For example, the “matching value” referred to herein may be the number of feature points successfully matched. If a matching value reaches a certain threshold, it can be considered that the fingerprint image is matched with a fingerprint template successfully; otherwise, if the matching value does not reach the certain threshold, it can be considered that the fingerprint image is not matched with the fingerprint template. The fingerprint information can also be ridge features of a fingerprint, that is, fingerprint feature-pattern contained in the fingerprint image.

The fingerprint feature may refer to feature points (also known as minutiae, interest point) of the fingerprint, such as corners contained in the fingerprint image, for example, Harris corners, scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) corners of the fingerprint. Based on this, matching values between the feature points collected and the fingerprint templates can be determined. If a matching value reaches a certain threshold, it can be considered that the feature points are matched with a fingerprint template successfully; otherwise, if the matching value does not reach the certain threshold, it is considered that the feature points are not matched with the fingerprint template.

At block 102, a target group number of a group of fingerprint templates that is most similar (in other words, with the highest similarity) to the fingerprint information is determined from among preset fingerprint matching data. The target group number corresponds to a group of fingerprint templates corresponding to a maximum matching value, which will be described in detail below.

The preset fingerprint matching data includes N groups of fingerprint templates, each group of fingerprint templates includes multiple fingerprint templates corresponding to one finger. Besides, each group of fingerprint templates has one unique identification group number, and N is an integer greater than 1. For example, N can be 5, 10, other appropriate integers.

According to implementations of the disclosure, the preset fingerprint matching data is stored in the terminal. The terminal can number the N groups of fingerprint templates sequentially or randomly. After numbering, each group of fingerprint templates has one identification unique group number (such as group ID). Further, the terminal can determine the target group number of a group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information, from among the preset fingerprint matching data. The terminal can compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates to obtain multiple matching values, and then a group of fingerprint templates corresponding to the maximum matching value can be regarded as a group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information. Alternatively, the terminal may compare a portion of the fingerprint information with a portion of at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates to obtain multiple matching values, and then a group of fingerprint templates corresponding to the maximum matching value can be selected as the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information.

The N groups of fingerprint templates may correspond to multiple fingers of the same user or different users. For example, there are three groups of fingerprint templates, that is, a first group of fingerprint templates, a second group of fingerprint templates, and a third group of fingerprint templates. Assuming that the first group of fingerprint templates is from fingerprints of the middle finger of the left hand of a user, and include five fingerprint templates, that is, the user pressed his/her middle finger of the left hand for at least five times when the user registered the fingerprints. The second group of fingerprint templates is from fingerprints of the thumb of the user's left hand, and includes eight fingerprint templates. The third group of fingerprint templates is from fingerprints of the thumb of the right hand of the user, and includes ten fingerprint templates. Then those three groups of fingerprint templates are numbered in ascending order of the number of the fingerprint templates for example; as can be seen, the first group of fingerprint templates corresponds to group number 1, similarly, the second group of fingerprint templates corresponds to group number 2, and the third group of fingerprint templates corresponds to group number 3.

As mentioned above, multiple groups of fingerprint templates come from different fingers respectively may be stored in the terminal. Due to the difference between fingerprints of different fingers, when compare fingerprint information of finger A with fingerprint information of finger B, a matching value obtained will be very low, typically less than 10% for example. Therefore, it may be determined first which group of fingerprint templates the fingerprint information to be compared is from, that is, determine the target group number first.

In implementations of the disclosure, the fingerprint information may be first compared with fingerprint templates of each of the N groups of fingerprint templates to determine which group of fingerprint templates is most similar to the fingerprint information. In one implementation, when the terminal compares the fingerprint information with any fingerprint template, a matching value can be obtained. Similarly, when the terminal compares the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of each of the N groups of fingerprint templates respectively, multiple matching values will be obtained. For example, the terminal can determine the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values, and judge whether the maximum matching value is greater than or equal to a first preset threshold, such as 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 91.1%, 95%, and so on, and the disclosure is not limited thereto. When the maximum matching value is less than the first preset threshold, the terminal can determine a group number corresponding to a fingerprint template having the maximum matching value to be the target group number.

At block 103, compare the fingerprint information with fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number.

Since part of the fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number have been compared at block 102, fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number and have not subjected to comparison can be easily determined at 103, and accordingly, at block 103, the terminal can compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates that have not subjected to comparison. In the process of comparison, the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates that have not subjected to comparison, when the target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information appears, then proceeding to unlocking at block 104; that is, when the target matching value greater than the first preset threshold appears, unlocking is implemented. The first preset threshold may be set as 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.811, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, and so on, and the disclosure is not limited thereto.

At block 104, when a target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined, the terminal will be unlocked. Where the target matching value is greater than the first preset threshold.

As one implementation, the terminal was in a screen-off state prior to block 101, and in this situation, a screen of the terminal can be lit up and unlocked desktop icons can be displayed after the terminal is unlocked. As another example, the terminal is in a screen-on state prior to block 101, and in this situation, the unlocked desktop icons can be displayed after the terminal is unlocked. As another example, the terminal is in a screen-off state prior to block 101, and in this situation, the screen of the terminal can be lit up, and an application associated with a fingerprint template that has been matched successfully can be initiated, or a preset page of the application associated with the fingerprint template that has been matched successfully can be opened after the terminal is unlocked. As another example, the terminal is in a screen-on state prior to block 101, then an application associated with a fingerprint template that has been matched successfully can be initiated, or a preset page of the application associated with the fingerprint template that has been matched successfully can be opened, after the terminal is unlocked. The above preset page may also be a main page of an application, a designated page, or a most frequently used page.

Through implementations of the disclosure, the fingerprint information is acquired, and the target group number of the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information is determined from among the preset fingerprint matching data. Thereafter, compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number. The terminal will be unlocked when the target matching value between a fingerprint template corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined, and the target matching value is greater than the first preset threshold. In other words, in implementations of the disclosure, compare at least one fingerprint template selected from the multiple groups of fingerprint templates with the fingerprint information, to determine which group of fingerprint templates is most similar to the fingerprint information, and compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates of the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information. Therefore, compared with the related art wherein the fingerprint information is compared with fingerprint templates stored in the terminal randomly, it is possible to reduce the number of times of fingerprint matching and improve the efficiency of fingerprint unlocking.

As mentioned before, based on the maximum matching value determined at block 102, different operations may be conducted. In one implementation, the maximum matching value is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than the second preset threshold, and in another implementation, the maximum matching value is greater than the first preset threshold.

The main purpose of setting two threshold values (that is, the first threshold and the second threshold) is that, unlocking can be implemented directly if the maximum matching value is greater than the first preset threshold; otherwise, if the maximum matching value is less than the second preset threshold, it indicates that the maximum matching value is too low and therefore there is no need to be compared, thus prompting a user to re-input fingerprint information directly, thereby improving the efficiency of terminal unlocking. Consequently, in case of multiple groups of fingerprint templates, no comparison is needed when the maximum matching value is lower, thereby avoiding wasting too much time for unlocking.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a fingerprint unlocking method according to a second implementation of the disclosure. The method includes the following operations. In this implementation, the maximum matching value determined at block 102 is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than the second preset threshold.

At block 201, fingerprint information is acquired.

At block 202, compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of N groups of fingerprint templates of preset fingerprint matching data respectively to obtain multiple matching values. The preset fingerprint matching data includes the N groups of fingerprint templates, each group of fingerprint templates corresponds to one finger and has one unique identification group number, where N is an integer greater than 1.

In the implementation, the terminal can compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates to obtain multiple matching values, and then a group of fingerprint templates corresponding to the maximum matching value can be regarded as a group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information. Alternatively, the terminal may compare a portion of the fingerprint information with a portion of at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates to obtain multiple matching values, and then a group of fingerprint templates corresponding to the maximum matching value can be selected as the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information.

The manner in which the terminal compares the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates respectively to obtain the multiple matching values can be various. For example, the terminal can compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint template most successfully matched (that is, the fingerprint template has the largest number of times of successful match) of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates; or the terminal may compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched in a preset time period of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates. The preset time period may be 24 hours, one weak, one month, one year, and so on; the disclosure is not limited thereto.

At block 203, the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than a second preset threshold, and a group number corresponding to a fingerprint template having the maximum matching value is determined as a target group number. The first preset threshold is greater than the second preset threshold.

The terminal can determine a group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values as the target group number. The second preset threshold may be 0.1, 0.2, 0.05, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.045, 0.23, 0.341 and so on, and the present disclosure it is not limited thereto.

At block 204, compare the fingerprint information with fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number.

Optionally, since part of the fingerprint templates corresponding to the fingerprints with the target group number have been compared at block 202, the terminal may compare the fingerprint information with fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number and have not been compared.

For the fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number, assuming that there are multiple fingerprint templates that have not been compared. The terminal can compare the fingerprint information with at least one of the multiple fingerprint templates sequentially (in some situations, compare the fingerprint information with each of the multiple fingerprint templates). Assuming fingerprint templates A, B, and C have been not subjected to comparison. First, the terminal can compare the fingerprint information with fingerprint template A, if a matching value is less than the first preset threshold, that is, if the comparison fails, the terminal will then compare the fingerprint information with fingerprint template B, if matched successfully, the terminal will be unlocked and there is no need to compare the fingerprint information with fingerprint template C.

At block 205, the terminal is unlocked when a target matching value between the fingerprint information and a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number is determined, where the target matching value is greater than the first preset threshold.

At block 206, when a fingerprint template corresponding to the target group number is matched successfully at block 205, increase the number of times of successful match of the target group number by 1.

At block 207, sort the N groups of fingerprint templates in descending order of the number of times of successful match, and re-number the N groups of fingerprint templates sorted, whereby the terminal compares fingerprint information acquired next time with the re-numbered N groups of fingerprint templates.

Sorting and re-numbering can be conducted when the number of times of successful match recorded by the terminal satisfies a preset condition. In an implementation, when the number of times of successful match recorded by the terminal satisfies the preset condition, the terminal can sort the N groups of fingerprint templates in descending order of the number of times of successful match. The preset condition can be that the number of times of successful match recorded is an integral multiple of a certain number; or the preset condition can be that the number of times of successful match reaches a certain threshold. In particular, the terminal can set multiple threshold values such as 100, 200, 500, 10, 20, 30, and so on. When the number of times of successful match reaches one of those threshold values, the terminal can sort the N groups of fingerprint templates in descending order of the number of times of successful match. Further, after sorting, the terminal can compare fingerprint information acquired next time with the foregoing re-numbered N groups of fingerprint templates.

As one implementation, the terminal can count the number of times of successful unlocking of each fingerprint template corresponding to each group of fingerprint templates, and compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint template most successfully matched first at block 202.

According to the implementations of the disclosure, the fingerprint information is acquired, and the target group number of the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information is determined from among the preset fingerprint matching data. Thereafter, compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number. The terminal will be unlocked when the target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined, and the target matching value is greater than the first preset threshold. In other words, in implementations of the disclosure, compare at least one fingerprint template selected from the multiple groups of fingerprint templates with the fingerprint information to determine which group of fingerprint templates is most similar to the fingerprint information, and compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates of the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information, thereby reducing the number of times of fingerprint matching and improving the efficiency of fingerprint unlocking. Furthermore, the multiple groups of fingerprint templates are sorted according to the number of times of successful match, and it is possible to further optimize the unlocking efficiency.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a fingerprint unlocking method according to a third implementation of the disclosure. The fingerprint unlocking method according to the third implementation includes the following operations. The maximum matching value determined at block 102 is greater than the first preset threshold.

At block 301, fingerprint information is acquired.

At block 302, compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of N groups of fingerprint templates of preset fingerprint matching data respectively to obtain multiple matching values, where the preset fingerprint matching data includes the N groups of fingerprint templates, each group of fingerprint templates includes multiple fingerprint templates corresponding to one finger. Each group of fingerprint templates has one unique identification group number (such as a group ID), and N is an integer greater than 1.

As an implementation, the terminal can compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates to obtain multiple matching values, and a group of fingerprint templates corresponding to the maximum matching value obtained can be regarded as a group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information. Alternatively, the terminal can compare a portion of fingerprint information with a portion of fingerprint information of at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates, and then a group of fingerprint templates corresponding to the maximum matching value obtained can be served as the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information.

At block 303, the maximum matching value is greater than a first preset threshold, the terminal is unlocked. Here, a group number corresponding to a fingerprint template having the maximum matching value can be determined as a target group number.

In this implementation, when the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values is greater than the first preset threshold, where the first preset threshold is a matching lower limit required for successful unlocking, the terminal will be unlocked directly, and the group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value will be determined as the target group number.

According to implementations of the disclosure, compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates of the preset fingerprint matching data to obtain the multiple matching values. When the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values is greater than the first preset threshold, the terminal will be unlocked directly, and the group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values is determined as the target group number. As can be seen, in the process of matching at least one fingerprint template of the multiple groups of fingerprint templates, when the maximum matching value is greater than the first preset threshold, the unlocking will be directly performed, so as to improve the unlocking efficiency for a terminal.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a terminal according to a fourth implementation of the disclosure. The terminal includes an acquiring unit 401, a first determining unit 402, a first comparing unit 403, and an unlocking control unit 404. The above components can be integrated into a fingerprint module of the terminal for example, or coupled with the fingerprint module. The acquiring unit 401 can be a sensor, such as an infrared sensor, a thermal sensor, or a photoelectric sensor. The first determining unit 402 can be a logic circuit, a controller, or a processor. The first comparing unit 403 can be implemented via a comparator or a comparing circuit. The unlocking control unit (also known as an unlocking unit) 404 can be implemented via a controller.

The acquiring unit 401 is configured to acquire fingerprint information.

The first determining unit 402 is configured to determine, from among preset fingerprint matching data, a target group number of a group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information acquired by the acquiring unit 401. The preset fingerprint matching data includes N groups of fingerprint templates, each group of fingerprint templates includes at least one fingerprint templates corresponding to one finger. Each group of fingerprint templates has one unique identification group number. N is an integer greater than 1.

The first comparing unit 403 is configured to compare the fingerprint information acquired by the acquiring unit 401 with all or part fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number determined by the first determining unit 402.

The unlocking control unit 404 is configured to unlock the terminal when a target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined by the first comparing unit 403, where the target matching value is greater than first preset threshold.

To be specific, the acquiring unit 401 is configured to acquire the fingerprint information in a process of pressing a fingerprint identification module, where the fingerprint information may be ridge features of a fingerprint, or a fingerprint image.

In one implementation, the first determining unit 402 includes a second comparing unit 4021 and a second determining unit 4022.

The second comparing unit 4021 is configured to compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates, so as to obtain multiple matching values.

The second determining unit 4022 is configured to determine a group number corresponding to a fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values determined by the second comparing unit 4021 to be a target group number.

In one implementation, the maximum matching value is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than a second preset threshold; where the first preset threshold is greater than the second preset threshold.

In another implementation, the maximum matching value is greater than the first preset threshold. In this case, the unlocking control unit 404 is configured to unlock the terminal directly after the matching of the second comparing unit 4021.

As one implementation, the second comparing unit 4021 is configured to compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates; or the second comparing unit 4021 is configured to match the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched in a preset time period of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates.

As one implementation, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal illustrated in FIG. 4 further includes a counting unit 405 and a sorting unit 406.

The counting unit 405 is configured to increase the number of times of successful match of the target group number by 1 after the unlocking control unit 404 unlocks the terminal or after the matching of the first comparing unit 403 is successful.

The sorting unit 406 is configured to sort the N groups of fingerprint templates in descending order of the number of times of successful match, and re-number the N groups of fingerprint templates sorted, whereby the first comparing unit 403 can compare fingerprint information acquired next time with the re-numbered N groups of fingerprint templates. In one implementation, the sorting unit 406 is configured to sort and re-number the N groups of fingerprint templates when the number of times of successful match recorded by the terminal satisfies a preset condition. Reference can be made to the foregoing descriptions for details.

According to the terminal described in the implementations, the acquiring unit 401 can acquire the fingerprint information, and the first determining unit 402 can determine, from among the preset fingerprint matching data, the target group number of the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information; Thereafter, the first comparing unit 403 can compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number. The terminal will be unlocked via the unlocking control unit 404 under certain conditions. For example, the terminal can be unlocked when the target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined, and the target matching value is greater than the first preset threshold. Alternatively, the terminal can be unlocked directly when the maximum matching value determined by the second comparing unit 4021 is greater than the first preset threshold. As such, compare at least one fingerprint template selected from the multiple groups of fingerprint templates with the fingerprint information to determine which group of fingerprint templates is most similar to the fingerprint information, and compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates of the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of times of fingerprint matching and improve the efficiency of fingerprint unlocking.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a terminal according to a second implementation of the disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 6, The terminal includes an acquiring unit 401, a first determining unit 402, a first comparing unit 403, and an unlocking unit 410. The above components can be integrated into a fingerprint sensor for example. Alternatively, the unlocking unit 410 can be a micro-controller independent from and connected with the fingerprint sensor.

The acquiring unit 401 is configured to acquire fingerprint information.

The first determining unit 402 is configured to determine, from among preset fingerprint matching data, a target group number of a group of fingerprints that is most similar to the fingerprint information acquired by the acquiring unit 401. The preset fingerprint matching data corresponds to N groups of fingerprints; each group of fingerprints corresponds to multiple fingerprint templates and has one unique identification group number, and N being an integer greater than 1.

The first comparing unit 403 is configured to compare the fingerprint information acquired by the acquiring unit 401 with fingerprint templates of fingerprints corresponding to the target group number determined by the first determining unit 402.

The unlocking unit 410 is configured to unlock the terminal when the first comparing unit 403 determines a target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information. The target matching value is greater than a first preset threshold.

The first determining unit 402 includes a second comparing unit 4021 and a second determining unit 4022.

The second comparing unit 4021 is configured to compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of each of the N groups of fingerprints of the preset fingerprint matching data respectively, to obtain multiple matching values.

The second determining unit 4022 is configured to determine a group number corresponding to a fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be the target group number, when the maximum matching value determined by the second comparing unit 4021 is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than a second preset threshold.

In one implementation, the second comparing unit 4021 is configured to compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched of each of the N groups of fingerprints; or compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched in a preset time period of each of the N groups of fingerprints.

The terminal further includes a third determining unit 408. The third determining unit 408 is configured to determine a group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be the target group number, after the second comparing unit 4021 compares the fingerprint information acquired by the acquiring unit 401 with the fingerprint templates of fingerprints corresponding to the target group number determined by the first determining unit 402, where the maximum matching value is greater than the first preset threshold.

The terminal further includes a counting unit 406 and a sorting unit 407. The counting unit 406 can be a counter. The sorting unit 407 can be a logic control circuit or a processor connected with the counter.

The counting unit 406 is configured to increase the number of times of successful match of the target group number by 1 after the unlocking unit 410 unlocks the terminal.

The sorting unit 407 is configured to sort the N groups of fingerprints in descending order of the number of times of successful match when the number of times of successful match recorded by the terminal satisfies a preset condition, and re-number the N groups of fingerprints sorted, whereby the first comparing unit 403 compares fingerprint information acquired next time with the re-numbered N groups of fingerprints.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a terminal according to a third implementation of the disclosure. The terminal includes at least one input device 10, at least one output device 20, at least one processor 30, e.g., a CPU, and a memory 40. The input device 10, the output device 20, the at least one processor 30, and the memory 40 are connected via a bus 50.

The input device 10 may be a physical key, a touch panel, a mouse, or a fingerprint identification module (that is, fingerprint sensor).

The output device 20 can be a display screen.

The memory 40 can be a high-speed random access memory (RAM), or a non-volatile memory, such as a disk storage device. The memory 40 is configured to store a group of program codes. The input device 10, the output device 20, and the at least one processor 30 are configured to invoke the program codes stored in the memory 40 to perform the following operations.

The processor 30 is configured to acquire preset fingerprint matching data from the terminal, for example, from the memory 40, where the preset fingerprint matching data includes N groups of fingerprint templates, each group of fingerprint templates corresponds to a finger and has one unique identification group number. N is an integer greater than 1.

The input device 10 is configured to acquire fingerprint information.

The processor 30 is configured to determine, from among the preset fingerprint matching data, a target group number of a group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information.

The processor 30 is further configured to compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number.

When the target matching value between a fingerprint template corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined, the processor 30 is further configured to unlock the terminal, where the target matching value is greater than the first preset threshold.

In one implementation, the input device 10 configured to acquire the fingerprint information is specifically configured to acquire the fingerprint information in a process of pressing a fingerprint identification module, where the fingerprint information can be ridge features of a fingerprint, or a fingerprint image.

In one implementation, the processor 30 configured to determine, from among the preset fingerprint data, the target group number of the group of fingerprint templates that is most similar to the fingerprint information, is further configured to: compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates respectively to obtain multiple matching values, and determine a group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be target group number when the maximum matching value is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than a second preset threshold, where the first preset threshold is greater than the second preset threshold.

In one implementation, the processor 30 configured to compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates of the preset fingerprint matching data is further configured to: compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched or with a fingerprint template most successfully matched in a preset time period of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates.

In one implementation, after matching the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of at least one of the N groups of fingerprint templates to obtain the multiple matching values, the processor 30 is further configured to: execute unlocking when the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values is greater than the first preset threshold, and determine a group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value as the target group number.

After unlocking, the processor 30 is further configured to increase the number of times of successful match of the target group number by 1.

The processor 30 is further configured to sort the N groups of fingerprint templates in descending order of the number of times of successful match, and re-number the N groups of fingerprint templates sorted, for example, when the number of times of successful match recorded by the terminal satisfies a preset condition, whereby the terminal matches fingerprint information acquired next time with the re-numbered N groups of fingerprint templates.

In one implementation, the processor 30 configured to compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates corresponding to the target group number is further configured to: compare the fingerprint information with the fingerprint templates that have not subjected to comparing yet of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number.

The input device 10, the output device 20, and the processor 30 can implement the fingerprint unlocking method of the first implementation, the second implementation, and the third implementation of this disclosure, or can implement the terminal provided by the implementations of the disclosure, and it will not be repeated again.

A computer storage medium is also provided. The computer storage medium is configured to store programs, when executed, the programs can implement part or all operations of any of the foregoing fingerprint unlocking methods.

In the foregoing implementations, the description of each implementation has its own emphasis. For the parts that are not described in detail in one implementation, reference may be made to related descriptions in other implementations.

It should be noted that, for the sake of brief description, the method implementations are described as a series of operation combinations. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the present disclosure is not limited to the described sequence of operations, because certain steps may be performed in other sequences or concurrently according to the present disclosure. Secondly, those skilled in the art should also know that the implementations described in the specification are preferred implementations, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily required.

In the foregoing implementations, the description of each implementation has its own emphasis. For the parts that are not described in detail in one implementation, reference may be made to related descriptions in other implementations.

It should be understood that, in the implementations provided in the present disclosure, the disclosed apparatus may be implemented in other manners. For example, the device implementations described above are merely exemplary. For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be otherwise divided in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or may be integrate into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. In addition, the illustrated or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be electrical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components illustrated as units may be or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place or may also be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solution in this implementation.

In addition, each functional unit in each implementation of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional unit.

When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and is sold or used as an independent product, the integrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present disclosure essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, which includes several instructions for causing a computer device (such as a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the implementations of the present disclosure. The foregoing storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a removable hard disk, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The foregoing implementations are intended for describing rather than limiting the technical solutions of the present disclosure. Although the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to the foregoing implementations, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that, the technical solutions described in the implementations can be modified, or equivalent replacements can be made to some of the technical features in the implementations, and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions in the implementations of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for fingerprint unlocking, comprising: acquiring fingerprint information; determining, from among preset fingerprint matching data, a target group number of a group of fingerprint that is most similar to the fingerprint information, the preset fingerprint matching data corresponding to N groups of fingerprint, wherein each group of fingerprint corresponds to multiple fingerprint templates and has one unique identification group number, and N is an integer greater than 1; comparing the fingerprint information with fingerprint templates of fingerprints corresponding to the target group number; and unlocking a terminal when a target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined, wherein the target matching value is greater than a first preset threshold; wherein the determining, from among preset fingerprint matching data, a target group number of a group of fingerprint that is most similar to the fingerprint information comprises: comparing the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of each of the N groups of fingerprints of the preset fingerprint matching data, respectively, to obtain multiple matching values; and determining a group number corresponding to a fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be the target group number, when the maximum matching value is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than a second preset threshold; and wherein the method further comprises the following after unlocking the terminal: increasing a number of times of successful match of the target group number by 1; and sorting the N groups of fingerprints in descending order of the number of times of successful match when the number of times of successful match recorded by the terminal satisfies a preset condition, and re-numbering the N groups of fingerprints sorted, whereby the terminal compares fingerprint information acquired next time with the re-numbered N groups of fingerprints.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of each of the N groups of fingerprints of the preset fingerprint matching data respectively comprises: comparing the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched of each of the N groups of fingerprints; or comparing the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched in a preset time period of each of the N groups of fingerprints.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the following after the comparing the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of each of the N groups of fingerprints of the preset fingerprint matching data respectively, to obtain multiple matching values: determining a group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be the target group number and proceeding to unlocking, when the maximum matching value is greater than the first preset threshold.
 4. A terminal, comprising: an acquiring unit, configured to acquire fingerprint information; a first determining unit, configured to determine, from among preset fingerprint matching data, a target group number of a group of fingerprints that is most similar to the fingerprint information acquired by the acquiring unit; the preset fingerprint matching data corresponding to N groups of fingerprints, each group of fingerprints corresponding to multiple fingerprint templates and having one unique identification group number, and N being an integer greater than 1; a first comparing unit, configured to compare the fingerprint information acquired by the acquiring unit with fingerprint templates of fingerprints corresponding to the target group number determined by the first determining unit; and an unlocking unit, configured to unlock the terminal when the first comparing unit determines a target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information, the target matching value being greater than a first preset threshold; wherein the first determining unit comprises: a second comparing unit, configured to compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of each of the N groups of fingerprints of the preset fingerprint matching data respectively, to obtain multiple matching values; and a second determining unit, configured to determine a group number corresponding to a fingerprint template having a maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be the target group number, when the maximum matching value determined by the second comparing unit is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than a second preset threshold; and wherein the terminal further comprises: a counting unit, configured to increase a number of times of successful match of the target group number by 1 after the unlocking unit unlocks the terminal; and a sorting unit, configured to sort the N groups of fingerprints in descending order of the number of times of successful match when the number of times of successful match recorded bar the terminal satisfies a preset condition, and re-number the N groups of fingerprints sorted, whereby the first comparing unit compares fingerprint information acquired next time with the re-numbered N groups of fingerprints.
 5. The terminal of claim 4, wherein the second comparing unit is configured to: compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched of each of the N groups of fingerprints; or compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched in a preset time period of each of the N groups of fingerprints.
 6. The terminal of claim 4, wherein the terminal further comprises: a third determining unit, configured to determine a group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be the target group number, after the second comparing unit compares the fingerprint information acquired by the acquiring unit with the fingerprint templates of fingerprints corresponding to the target group number determined by the first determining unit, wherein the maximum matching value is greater than the first preset threshold.
 7. A terminal, comprising: a memory, configured to store executable program codes; and a processor coupled with the memory; the processor being configured to invoke the executable program codes stored in the memory to: acquire fingerprint information; determine, from among preset fingerprint matching data, a target group number of a group of fingerprint that is most similar to the fingerprint information, the preset fingerprint matching data corresponding to N groups of fingerprint, wherein each group of fingerprint corresponds to multiple fingerprint templates and has one unique identification group number, and N is an integer greater than 1; compare the fingerprint information with fingerprint templates of fingerprints corresponding to the target group number; and unlock a terminal when a target matching value between a fingerprint template of the fingerprints corresponding to the target group number and the fingerprint information is determined, wherein the target matching value is greater than a first preset threshold; wherein the processor configured to determine, from among preset fingerprint matching data, a target group number of a group of fingerprint that is most similar to the fingerprint information is configured to: compare the fingerprint information with at least one fingerprint template of each of the N groups of fingerprints of the preset fingerprint matching data respectively, to obtain multiple matching values; and determine a group number corresponding to a fingerprint template having a maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be the target group number, when the maximum matching value is less than or equal to the first preset threshold and greater than a second preset threshold; and wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following after unlocking the terminal; increasing a number of times of successful match of the target group number by 1; and sorting the N groups of fingerprints in descending order of the number of times of successful match when the number of times of successful match recorded by the terminal satisfies a preset condition, and re-numbering the N groups of the fingerprints sorted, whereby the terminal compares fingerprint information acquired next time with the re-numbered N groups of fingerprints.
 8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to: compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched of each of the N groups of fingerprints; or compare the fingerprint information with a fingerprint template most successfully matched in a preset time period of each of the N groups of fingerprints.
 9. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following after comparing the fingerprint information with the at least one fingerprint template of the each of the N groups of fingerprints of the preset fingerprint matching data respectively, to obtain the multiple matching values: determining a group number corresponding to the fingerprint template having the maximum matching value among the multiple matching values to be the target group number and proceeding to unlocking, when the maximum matching value is greater than the first preset threshold. 